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As Google Streetview rolls out around the world we're getting various interesting little sights. There have been any number of images of people urinating in the streets, being sick, even those knowing that the camera cars are coming by and making sure that they're included for posterity. The latest story is that the Google camera car might have killed a donkey in Botswana. Certainly, as you can see here, at one point there's a donkey wandering along the roadside quite happily, at another there's one rolling in the dust. A not unnatural thought is that it got hit by the car taking the pictures.

There are those who claim to be able to explain what happened:

I came back from Botswana recently and I can prove this donkey IS ALIVE! I’ve seen it. His name is Paul and he is doing well.

And then there are those who have more believable things to tell us:

After looking at the images a bit more and noticing that they drive on the left side in Botswana, I’m guessing that’s what happened, yes. So, the images should be viewed in the opposite order. Some weird and dangerous donkey trick.

Quite: after adjusting for the way that Botswana drives English style, on the left, the story become clear. The donkey is having a little dust bath in the road before the arrival of the Streetview car. It's a method of dealing with fleas, lice and other insect infestations: I've always assumed that they choke on the dust itself but that might require a little more investigation. As the car approaches it gets up and wanders away.